For several decades, government agencies in the western world have promoted personal responsibility for health and illness. This study explored the extent to which this perspective was integrated into the everyday beliefs about health and illness held by a sample of baby-boomers from eastern Canada. Approximately 150 baby-boomers participated in a series of individual interviews and group discussions. Detailed analysis of their conversation revealed a number of social and personal narratives about the changing character and experience of health and illness. The dominant viewpoint was in terms of lifestyle and personal responsibility. We consider the role of narratives in the construction of social representations of health and illness.
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